Most who work in the open air usually wear short sleeves shirts leaving the forearms exposed. One of the basic problems confronting those who work, or play with their forearms exposed, is sunburn or the possibility of other skin diseases caused by the sun's rays. On the other hand it is also desirable to keep the arms as cool as possible.
Within just five minutes on a sunny summer day one's skin may absorb enough UV radiation to develop a minor sunburn. Skin cells may suffer injury that can not be seen or felt. Multiply that over the years and damage from daily sun exposure may become major, including skin cancer and skin aging. In recent years, the public has become more aware of the effects of melanoma and the prevention and treatment thereof.
There are two types of ultraviolet rays-UVA (long wave solar rays of 320-400 nanometers) and UVB (short wave solar rays of 290-320 nanometers)—that can affect the skin even with small daily doses. The UVB rays are most abundant in the midday sun, usually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when your shadow is shorter than a person, and are most associated with sunburn. The medical community, recommends full head-to-toe protection of at least SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 15, and preferably 30+. SPF or UPF (Ultra Violet Protection Factor) is meant to be a guide of how much time you can spend in the sun compared to how long the skin takes to redden without protection. Liquid sun screens, although effective, are troublesome to use and are not always effective against harmful UVA radiation. It is known that most people don't apply the recommended doses of sun screen and/or don't like the mess. For more information refer to the Internet at <www.skincancer.org>.
A UV blocking fabric is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,280.
Others have tried to seek protection of their arms by tubular sleeves that surround the arm and in some instances up to and including the shoulder. Some representative samples of such garments can be found in the following U.S. patents:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,633 Rael; U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,062 Tseng; U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,586 Reinoso; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,550 Flores.        
However, these devices, although they teach sun protective concepts, are tubular in construction being designed to fully cover the arm and in the instance of the Rael, Flores and Reinoso to include the upper arm and shoulder. Such devices would not be comfortable in the heat of summer as there is no free flow of air around the exposed limbs.
Other forms of devices to protect the arms and/or shoulders for different, or unexplained, reasons are found in the following U.S. patents                U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,656 Rosenbaum, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 1,157,341 Tallerday; U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,241 Ziegler; U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,992 Ross; U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,381 Bowman, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,772 Donner; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,590 Kulik.        
There are in the prior art devices for partially covering the arm as shown in the following U.S. patents:                U.S. Pat. No. 794,294 Gardner; U.S. Pat. No. 925,952 Sacks; U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,157 Pryor; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,867 Faison        
Gardner and Sacks describe devices for protecting the underside of sleeve covered arms such as during indoor desk work.
The Pryor and Faison patents describe devices for protecting the upper forearm from solar radiation, but like the prior art utilizes a plurality of VELCRO straps to releasably secure the fabric. To permit free flow of air, as when the arm is outside the window of a vehicle, these straps must be loose fitting which could allow the device to move about the arm. To prevent that, the straps must then be tight around the arm, which then will restricting the free flow of air around the arm.
One problem with certain prior art devices is that when the forearm is pivoted about the elbow joint, as for example, moved upward and/or inward, the covering becomes unattractive as it moves, twists or curls, and exposes the forearm. The use of a swivel connection means adjacent the elbow joint, as disclosed herein, prevents such moving or twisting of the protective covering.
Although protecting the arm which projects outwardly of a vehicle is still possible, the modern day vehicle is usually air cooled with the windows closed. There are, however, many other situations where protection is needed. Construction laborers, service personnel, and even those who work and attend outdoor sports or other events could use protective devices.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a garment device for protecting one or both forearms of individuals from the harmful effects of the sun.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device that not only protects the forearm of individuals but is comfortable and cooler. The distinctive feature being a length, or an adjustable length, of flexible sun blocking fabric that is loosely fitted over at least the top portion of the forearm between two elastic bands or adjustable straps, one at the wrist, the other forward of the elbow joint and bone.
Another object of the invention is the use of a medically acceptable fabric providing high SPF, UVA and UVB sun protection such as that sold under the trademark SOLUMBRA, a product of Sun Precautions, Inc. Other fabrics of Solar Protective Factory, Inc sold under the trademarks SOLARWEAVE and SUN RePel are inclusive of use. Such fabrics are advertised to provide 30+ SPF protection.
A further object of the invention is to provide a fabric covering that includes ornamental designs or promotional advertising on the outside.